Schache v Weitering. Pick 1 v Pick 2. Key back v the key forward…

It’s a mouth-watering prospect not only for Carlton and Brisbane Lions fans, but for everyone who loves AFL.

This Saturday we could see the beginning of one of the games' most enduring battles that could last for more than a decade.

Jacob Weitering, a product of the Dandenong Stingrays, stands at 195cm tall and weighs 90kg. He’s a key defender known for his ability to take a strong mark, command the backline and has the ability to read the play and intercept opposition passes. He was the Captain of the Vic Country team who took out the Division one title last Season, and was named as an All-Australian.

Josh Schache, a product of the Murray Bushrangers, stands at 199cm tall and weighs 98kg. A teammate of Weitering’s in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, Schache was the winner of the 2015 Larke Medal after a brilliant carnival where he kicked 24 goals, the most of any player on the national stage.  So as Weitering stopped the goals at the National Carnival, Schache kicked them.

(Taken from this week's #USvsTHEM Infographic - see full graphic here)

So quick has their rise been, that they will now face off in the AFL just one year later.

The last time the two met as rivals was a wet day in July last year, when the Murray Bushrangers played the Dandenong Stingrays.

The two didn’t play on each other all too often that day, with Weitering lining up on Schache early before leaving him for Kieran Collins when Schache played deep at full forward.

(Josh Schache and Jacob Weitering playing on eachother in the TAC Cup before being drafter in 2015 (photo by Robert Prezioso/AFL Media)

In the rain, Schache wasn’t able to make great impact, but it will be interesting to see how he goes in the dry conditions at Etihad Stadium.

Jacob Weitering and Josh Schache both made their debuts in Round 1 of this Season and have both made an impact early.

Weitering averages 15 disposals and 5.8 marks a game. He is also a recipient of an NAB AFL Rising Star award nomination after his performance against the Gold Coast Suns in Round 3, where he gathered 26 disposals, took nine marks, had five intercepts and gained 466m.

Schache averages 9.6 disposals and 4.4 marks a game, he has also kicked seven goals and ten behinds. Against the Hawks on the weekend he took eight marks, kicked 2.2 goals and didn’t look far from having a breakthrough game.

Despite the all of the theatre, it will be interesting to see whether we will get to see much of the two going toe-to-toe on the weekend.

Josh Schache likes to play deep at full forward, where as Weitering moves around the backline. However, it is expected that we will see them standing next to one another from time to time.

Speaking prior to this weekend’s game, Carlton Coach Brendon Bolton downplayed the match-up but said it will be exciting for fans.

"If we get that match-up it will be exciting for the fans," Bolton said.

"I think it may happen at some point, but we play team defence so it can't happen all the time."

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